Polish Agriculture Minister, Czesław Siekierski, has expressed concerns that the elimination of customs duties on Ukrainian goods within the European Union (EU) benefits Ukraine at the expense of Polish farmers.
According to a report by wPolityce, Siekierski criticized the 2022 trade liberalization that allows Ukrainian goods and products to enter the EU without customs duties, highlighting its positive impact on the Ukrainian economy but the potential harm to Polish agriculturalists.
Siekierski noted that the Polish government is actively negotiating with Ukraine and the European Commission to limit the influx of Ukrainian goods into the European market.
He emphasized the necessity of implementing protective measures to safeguard the European markets from Ukrainian products.
Last Wednesday, Polish farmers staged massive protests against the influx of goods from Ukraine, demanding a reduction in the import of Ukrainian agricultural products into the EU and a reevaluation of the bloc’s Common Agricultural Policy towards easing environmental restrictions.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has classified the humanitarian situation in Ukraine as extremely critical, warning of a slowdown in aid nearly two years into the Ukrainian crisis.
Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, stated that “aerial bombings are a daily occurrence, especially in frontline areas and cities, bringing destruction primarily affecting civilians, leading to a significant number of people becoming homeless and displaced.”
